A strong introductory first episode lead me to believe that I might have to add Tokyo Ghoul to my favorite’s column, but at last I came to realize I was deceive. Our protagonist, Ken Kaneki, is a shy college student who happens to be bookworm. Not the most unique of characters but he is who he is. He befriends a beautiful girl, Rize Kamishiro, who also appears to love books just as much as him. He is smitten and takes Rize on a date. As they are walking home Rize reveals that everything was a façade, she is actual a ghoul and beginnings to attack Ken. A construction “accident” miraculously kills Rize and saves Ken’s life. He is left unconscious and later discovers to his great consternation that some of Rize organs were transferred into his body during surgery. He now becomes half human and half ghoul and his story for survival commences.
The premise is very appealing, however I feel that the story is incomplete and has too many holes. For example, the producers fail to provide adequate information about ghouls, after finishing the series I still do not fully know what a ghoul is. In fact, the producers provided very little background in general. Although I must stress that the first season was very entertaining. It appears that they were trying to build some intrigue and provide answers later on. However, season two provided little to no answers. *SPOILER *Almost every ghoul knew of Rize Kamishiro and was interested in her in some form. But the story provided no background into her past. In one scene Ken breaks into a ghoul prison and ends up fighting an inmate who surprise surprise is only focus on Rize. He is much stronger and ken proves no match for him. The fight scene is cut and that inmate disappears with no explanation is never seen again. Also, after Ken’s transformation into a full ghoul, he joins the enemy faction and provides no clear motive. His only explanation is that he wants to protect those he love. How exactly will joining Aogiri tree (enemy faction) help protect them?* The story, mostly the second season, felt force. Bits and pieces of information were thrown in with no real coherence. I keep on waiting for the story to gradually provide some answers and explanations but that never happened.
In all honestly I did not like most of the characters, this is my personal opinion therefore it may vary from other people. Omitting the torture scene Ken Kaneki was weak and a wimp, personally I find this very annoying. After his transformation into a full ghoul he becomes stronger but too distant and mysterious to the viewer. Touka Kirishima is a tsundere, very cliché. Amon is one of the few characters that I enjoyed. They revealed a little of his past which help explains some of his motives and aided the audience in connecting with him. Yoshimura fulfilled his role admirably. Tsukiyama was incredibly irritating I hated him. His extravagant gestures, tone and mannerism frustrated me. Juuzou is another one of my favorites, an enigmatic character always willing to provide some comic relief. Hide was an essential piece to the story but very little is known about him much like Rize. Most of the remaining characters are extras and don’t really add to the story.
The animation was very well done and the character design were practically flawless. The fights were undoubtedly very visually appealing. The opening and ending music were unsatisfactory, they did not create an impact.
Granted, not by design, my review can appear as if I am attacking this anime. However, I tried eminently to enjoy this anime. Tokyo Ghoul certainly had the potential but disappointed in most areas. It was obvious that the producers were in a rush and crudely assembled the story. Although I did not read the manga, from the comments that I read the producers did not stick to the manga and did a poor job in the adaptation. Tokyo Ghoul is not terrible but as a whole this anime was rather lackluster.
